Most Lenawee schools close Tuesday as more snow hits

Most Lenawee County schools ended up closed Tuesday after another winter storm Monday night dumped 3 to 6 inches of fresh snow throughout areas of southeastern Michigan.

Several school districts had planned to open later than usual Tuesday but, by 7:30 a.m., all had closed except for Madison School District. It had a two-hour delayed start.

In other parts of Michigan, a roughly 40-vehicle interstate pileup left six people with non-life threatening injuries Monday evening. The pileup occurred on the eastbound side of I-94 in Paw Paw Township, about 55 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. Crashes closed portions of Interstate 96 in Grand Rapids, and the Muskegon area saw whiteout conditions.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm broke some decades-old daily snowfall records for Feb. 17, including 6.2 inches in Muskegon and 5.6 inches in Grand Rapids. The old records were 6 inches in Muskegon, set in 1939, and 4.7 inches in Grand Rapids, set in 1956.

There have been several roof collapses reported since January across Michigan, mostly at buildings with flat roofs.

Warmer temperatures are being forecast for the next several days. Local highs were forecast to reach 35 today, and to climb to 44 on Thursday.

The East Coast of the U.S. also received several inches of snow Monday night as well as rare "thundersnow," prompting speed restrictions today on Pennsylvania highways. By the morning rush hour, the National Weather Service had reported 4.5 inches of snow in Mercer County in western Pennsylvania.

Last week, about 1.2 million utility customers lost power as the storm marched from the South through the Northeast. Schools, businesses and government offices closed. The storm was blamed for at least 25 deaths stretching from Texas to Maine.